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Air Canada Rouge unveils its new flight attendant uniforms

With only weeks to go before Air Canada’s new leisure airline Rouge takes off on Canada Day, officials are putting the finishing touches on the new carrier.

The airline unveiled its new uniforms for its first group of 150 flight attendants at a Distillery District event in Toronto on Monday.

A half dozen trainees walked down a makeshift catwalk that usually serves as the sales counter at John Fluevog designer shoes to show off their outfits, which include fitted burgundy vests and sweaters and grey trousers, topped off with a gray pin-striped trilby hat.

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VF Imagewear Canada’s Milene Vaknin, who led the uniform project, turned to her son Jonathan and his friends for advice on what Rouge’s young staff, whose average age is 28, would wear.

“Every time they put a component on, they would say, ‘Yes, I’d wear that. No, I absolutely wouldn’t wear that,’ ” she said.

“The first pair of pants I brought to him, he said, ‘Seriously? Mom, I’m 20.’ It was too old,” she said, adding the result is what calls “a trendy, urban look.”

However, the uniform got mixed reactions on the Star’s website and on Twitter; some people noted the colour scheme as the same as what’s worn by TTC staff, while others said the look was reminiscent of a glee club. Others loved the hat — but some hated it. In 2006, Porter Airlines introduced the 1960s pillbox hat for its flight attendants, a deliberate throwback to a time when flying was more glamorous.

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Rouge also formally announced a partnership with Disney to train and prepare all of Rouge’s flight attendants on how to deliver customer service; the training will take place on-site at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., next month.

“I’ve always wanted to fly, and I was so excited to learn about Disney. I’ve never been,” said Sasha Langdon, 23, who previously worked in restaurants.

Michael Friisdahl, who heads Air Canada’s leisure group, said Disney matched the type of customers Rouge expects to attract, especially families with children.

“We knew we wanted something very different to generate an onboard experience that really needs to be next to none,” he said, noting managers as well as staff with Air Canada Vacations will also take the Disney training.

“We have a unique opportunity to start with a blank sheet of paper and try to do it right.”

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In an unusual agreement, Rouge will charge the flight attendants for a portion of the training costs. The airline will deduct $49 a month for three years from the flight attendants’ gross wages, and if they leave before that time, the flight attendants must pay back what is owed.

But trainees like Tyler Miedema, 26, said they didn’t mind sharing in the costs, arguing it was good investment for the future.

Rouge’s wages start at $22.99 an hour, which is less than what Air Canada pays. They are guaranteed a minimum of 75 hours a month of flying, though flight attendants are only paid for time spent in the air.

Despite the lower pay, the trainees said they were attracted to the chance to fly immediately overseas, to locations including Venice and Athens as well as sun destinations like Cuba and the Caribbean.

“Flying makes up for a lot,” said Diala Canelo, 38. “It makes for a lot of happiness.”

Flights begin on July 1 with return trips between Toronto and Kingston, Jamaica, and Toronto and Liberia, Costa Rica.

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Officials say they are pleased with the bookings to date. “On some routes that we have assumed (from Air Canada), obviously we have a track record,” said Friisdahl. “In those cases, we are well ahead of bookings than on prior years.”

The airline is launching with just four airplanes, but will gradually increase its fleet as Air Canada acquires new planes including 777s and 787s in the years ahead, transferring older planes to Rouge.

Rouge expects to add another six Airbus 319s by year’s end, with 32 in all by end of 2014.

Air Canada has said creating a discount airline, with lower labour costs, is critical to compete with leisure carriers like Transat, Sunwing and WestJet Airlines.

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